Introduction

Abstract

The conceptualization and understanding of ‘wine tourism’ is still evolving, and in most instances, it relates to the tourist’s motivation and experiences. The challenge for wine tourism researchers is integrating wine tourism products and consumer knowledge to develop a more comprehensive view of wine tourism’s strategic and pragmatic issues. Wine tourists are betrothed primarily in wine-related travel to experience a holiday with wine and wine tourism activities. R. Mitchell and M. Hall classified wine tourism research into the following areas: wine tourism product; wine tourism and regional development; quantification on demand; segmentation of wine tourists; visitors’ behavior; nature of the visit to wineries; and food safety and wine tourism. Wine marketers and wine tourism destinations should also make consumers aware of the aspects of wine ‘flavor’ and ‘taste’ to understand wine attributes closely. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.